New research shows almost half of people in Britain gamble

A new Gambling Commission report published today offers a greater insight into gambling participation, attitudes and behaviours in Great Britain.

The research looks at gambling participation and perceptions in 2016, as well as how people gamble, devices they use and the influence of social media. Figures also explore interest and awareness around terms and conditions, self-exclusion and other gambling management tools.

Some 48% of Britons have gambled in the past four weeks (a 3% increase on 2015) although this figure drops to 33% when it excludes those who have only played the National Lottery. 53% of men have gambled, up from 50% in 2015 and 44% of women, up from 41%.

The use of mobile phones or tablet devices to gamble has increased by 10% since 2015 to 43% and 68% of 18 to 24-year-olds have been prompted to gamble by adverts and posts on social media.

Among those who have gambled in the last 12 months, 0.7% were identified as problem gamblers, up from 0.5% in 2015 and 5.5% identified as at-risk gamblers.

The poll also found 67% of respondents think people should have the right to gamble whenever they want, but 69% believe gambling is dangerous for family life and 78% feel there are now too many opportunities to gamble.

Gambling Commission programme director James Green said: "This report paints an important picture of how consumers in Britain choose to gamble - identifying emerging trends and potential risks to the public.

"We are also now able to provide a more detailed snapshot of online behaviours, which featured for the first time last year."

"Effective protections come from strong evidence. Our research puts us in a powerful position to better understand the needs of gambling consumers."